why buy a used prius instead of a new XXXXXXXXX?

To be fair, you need to compare a used 06 Corolla S, about $11400-12400.
It is financially better.

If you want to have the good mpg and to be green. Prius is the choice.

 

In the end, it's your call.
Who's driving this daily and making car payment? (Good concrete reasons enough)

As long as you are paying reasonable price, both are sensible cars but you can't beat the MPG in Prius.

 

Buy a car because that's what you want. Plenty of folks here are going to argue for you getting a Prius and plenty against. I think your Prius price is a little high. If you do some searching you can really get a good used deal now.

6 months ago when gas was $4 plus/gal. used Prius like you are thinking about were going for 23-25K. Best of luck and enjoy what ever you get.

 

I wonder why. Does it have something to do with gravitational pull? I noticed that when I stand between my Prius and my Maxima, I lean towards my Prius also. I finally remembered that I have one leg 3/8" shorter than the other. When I turned and faced the other direction, I leaned towards the Maxima. Now I'm just confused. What does this mean?

 

The Prius is loaded with more goodies than the Corolla, and has a lot more interior room.

 

I'm surprised at the price you have there for the used Prius. I got mine this week for $22,000 and it's a 2008 with 8,000 miles on it, with all the bells and whistles. It has everything except navigation, and it's certified pre-owned~

 

Used price seems high. I paid 19500 for my '06 with 21K miles back in February.

 

The Prius is likely to keep its value better. It has already been discounted for the new/used premium, which a new Corolla has not. Depending on fuel prices, you could end up selling it for what you paid (some folks did last summer in the US). Free car for a year or two. Can you beat that?

 

I was also looking at the Corolla or Prius. The Prius came out to $22,000 out the door for me for a 2008 with 22 miles on the Odometer, Package 2. I have seen ads in the local paper advertising the 2009 Package 2's for $19,997 or $2,000 off of brand new upper end models

 

A new car will depreciate sharply when it leaves the lot and over the first few years. The used car has already had the sharp drop in price, but not a sharp drop in value. If you need hard numbers just use the blue book for similar cars over say the last ten years. Corollas are a good car too, but you can't really power your house off one.

 

If it helps, Consumer Reports named the Prius the "cheapest family sedan in terms of total cost of ownership". The Prius was also named "most reliable" in its class (mid-size cars) and, of course, has the highest rate of customer satisfaction (I saw that it won that award this year, too).

With the Prius, you save on gas, you save on brake pads (because of the regenerative braking sytem), they are literally some of the most reliable cars on the road and you get the utility of a hatchback with the "wow" factor of all the gadgetry.

Plus the Prius holds its resale value better than just about any car out there (during past shortages, you could sell for more than you bought it for).

 

We did alot of research before making our jump three weeks ago and ended up purchasing a used 2007 Prius with 23,000 miles. We've spoke with too many happy Prius owners and my wife was too overtaken with the comments not to pass up the used Prius. She was looking at Toyota, BMW and Volkswagen as she wanted something that got good mileage, was reliable and would stand the test of time. When she began factoring in all three, the VW lost it on reliability, the BMW lost it on mileage and the Toyota was the only clear winner of all three. The car has been trouble free thus far (only three weeks) and I've been over every inch of it to ensure she got a decent vehicle.

We had the option to purchased Toyota Certified but it was signifcantly more than purchasing from the Mercedes dealer who had this one on the lot and wanted to simply get rid of it. They said it wasn't in their ususal mix of used vehicles they carry and NO ONE had looked at it in weeks. So, they had is discounted to $18,988 out the door and we were the first to look at in in the three days since they had discounted it.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing as she loves the car, Toyota has maintained it since new per the service book in the glove box, and all the good things folks have said about Toyotas (this is the first we've ever owned and we're impressed).

P.S. I'm in my late 40's so it's not like this is my first car but Toyota has really impressed me.

 

thedutchtouch, don't bank on the FE. Yeah, figure 50mpg if you're cruising on open roads and making longer trips. If you are going to be running the car for 5 minutes figure 25mpg, 10 minutes, 38mpg. Half the time you'll be going uphill when you'll take a FE hit. Going downhill is joy especially when you see a full battery.

Do you really need or will use all the extras? That auto-dimming review mirror that opens the garage door is expensive. The nav system is expensive and many believe inferior to a Garmin or TomTom. Toyota's upgrade DVD will cost more than a portable unit. Do you really need to shove 6 CDs into the dash?

A 2009 Prius package 2 (or comparable prior MY) is, IMO, the sweet spot. The advantages are less fuel, less maintenance, equal or more useable space compared to other midsized cars, and better warranty (when bought in a CARB state). Read through www.carbuyingtips.com and follow the advice. The savings up front on a cheaper car will most likely be exhausted over time on repairs & maintenance.

 

I agree that if you want to be green and have the good gas mileage the Prius is the one. Even with the much lower gas prices the car is still a good deal and a good idea for the planet in general. I've been told several times by others (who drive big trucks) that with the lower gas prices I'm actually losing money but I haven't been able to wrap my head around the idiot numbers needed to believe that line.

:welcome:

 

Get a $400 Corolla and invest the change. Economically that is the right way to go.
If you are too proud to drive a 20 year old car then get the Prius.

I might add, I was making this same decission 18 months ago and you can guess how that turned out.

I looked at a new 2007 Corolla and a 2004 base model Prius (we only have base and iTech)
Corolla and used Prius were about the same price, the Corolla was going to drop $5000 as it was registered in my name even before I drove it where the Prius would not. I drive 80km per day round trip to work plus extras like a recent drive to Townsville and another to Alice Springs so I clock up some miles. Economy was important to me.

I believe the OP is considering a short commute (4 miles) which is why I advocate a $400 Corolla that is 20 years old.

 

Used is the way to go. Let someone else take the hit on depreciation. Pay lower sales tax. A used Prius might even make money if gas prices go back up over the next year or two. No vehicle holds its value better (when well maintained).

 

used cars are generally a better value than new if the car is good and well-cared for. then you just have to draw the line of what's more important to you- value vs newness. i've seen people steered toward a new car they could not afford by their families, who found newness to be more important. i've also seen people steered away from the new car by their families who emphasized value